


The Post War Inquisition

by Yonadavz



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Wizarding Politics (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26084254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yonadavz/pseuds/Yonadavz
Summary: A few months after the battle of Hogwarts, Hermione wants to build a better world and with the chosen one, and other allies, at her side, she just might be able to do it.





	1. Office Meeting

August 23, 1998. The Ministry of Magic  
Arthur Weasley was the first to arrive to the office. In the months after the Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of Voldemort he rose through the ranks of the ministry. This wasn't because of his connections with the temporary minister Kingsley Shackelbolt, it's because the ranks are empty. Many are dead, but the even more of them are under investigation for their support of the regime led by the Death Eater. Azkaban is currently still under the 'management' of the Dementors, but he's working on a reform. It's filled to the brim with new inmates and it could have been much worse if they didn't promise full immunity to all those who left rank before the fall of he who was not named. The Daily Prophet called it the Malfoy Line, since Lucius was the most famous Death Eater to break ranks. He wasn't the last one, since many realized they should follow him, but even Arthur had to agree it was a good name, people understood what it meant.  
A knock on the door meant the meeting was about to begin. Arthur son Ron came in accompanied with non-other than Harry Potter, who is doing his best to avoid crowds these days. "Good to see you, son. You too Harry".  
"Hey Arthur, I was sure Kingsley would be here already"  
"I believe he is escorting Hermione back from Australia".  
"Dad, do you know what this meeting is about?"  
"Yes, the future of the Ministry, But I have no clear idea what that means"  
There was an awkward silence for a minute before a cracking noise from the fire place interrupted and out of it came in Kingsley and Hermione. Ron was the first to run and hug Hermione, while his father shook hands fondly with Kingsley. When Ron and Hermione finally let go of one another Harry Smiled at a beaming Hermione and they hugged.  
A: "So how are your parents? I hope Kingsley proved helpful"  
H: Yes! He…  
K (interrupting): They all know you didn't need me for magic, even advance and delicate as undoing your own memory charms. But it was indeed important for me to be there. Miss Grainger and I had a lot to discuss away from prying eyes.  
R: We were wondering what is your plan, since we're a part of it…  
Kingsley sat down and waived his hand letting Hermione lead.  
H: Well, the wizarding community has been in the same spot as we are the last time Voldemort was defeated and it lead us to the same point. We are in a crucial point where we can change and fix out society, if we won't waste it. The problem isn’t the Death Eater, but the people with many shared beliefs working from inside the ministry, not as agents of Voldemort but as those who fought him.  
A: But Hermione! We just promised former Death Eaters won't be prosecuted and now you want to go after those who fought alongside us? Even if this was the right thing to do, which it isn't, you will just confuse everyone and…  
K: Of course Arthur, that's why we are not about it. We're not looking to put any more souls in Azkaban. But we need to clean house here and rebuild a better Ministry.  
H: I know we can't just change everything with sheer force, I can't free all of the house elves but there is so much we CAN do, that couldn’t be done 17 years ago, and it has to start in tomorrow's open forum.  
There was a knock on the door.  
K: I hoped to finish our… 'pitch' is the word Hermione? before he came in, but we might as well.  
And while the other three were baffled, Kingsley went to open the door


	2. Opening the Forum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two days later, a public forum shows the new direction the Ministry is taking to the entire wizarding community.

August 25, 1998. The Great Public Hall at the Ministry of Magic

The biggest hall at the ministry was almost packed. There probably wasn't one magical family in Britain without at least one member here. Well, some families had all of their wizards and witches of age in Azkaban, but those were few. Arthur Weasley knew almost everyone there. Looking at all of the wizarding community at once made him realize how small they were. Two wars in 2o years decimated the already small community. It's no wonder Voldemort didn't want to 'spill more wizarding blood', he thought to himself. That's also the real reason behind the Malfoy line, no matter what preposterous theories the Daily Prophet had suggested. The truth is the wizarding community didn't understand how small they were, or how big the Muggle community is. Arthur was in this hall many times since he started working for the ministry, but this time the hall was packed, and he was on stage and not with the rest of the crowd. He wasn't alone on the stage, he was there with the current minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger who was getting ready to open the forum. The crowd had was divided into few groups. Next the stage were the surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix who were now filling open positions in the ministry. Right behind them sat the Hogwarts Faculty and behind them many people who weren't affiliated with order or the ministry who answered the call and joined the last battle of the second wizarding war. On the other side, also next to the stage, sat the members of the ministry, Most of the Death Eaters who were also ministry members did not sit with them, but some did. The rest of the hall was just people, part of the community who didn't take part in the war. Unaffiliated civilians, some enjoyed the reign of Voldemort, some were still traumatized by it. And one last group sat all the way in the back, former Death Eaters who knew when to bail ship and got themselves out of Azkaban. Some of them looked angry and ready to battle other frightened. But there was one who was beaming and smiling. In the front of the Death Eaters sat Lucius Malfoy with his wife and son, who were both on the frightened side of the group. Lucius demeanor surely didn't help those in the ministry who were trying to disprove the Daily Prophet's latest conspiracy – Potter and Draco Malfoy's friendship is the cause of the Malfoy Line. What a stupid thing to think, let alone publish, Arthur thought to himself. Even after the way the battle of Hogwarts ended, there was no love between the two. It's true that the hate is not what it used to be; Harry was finally free and didn’t want to dwell on the past hate between the two. Draco didn't hate Harry per se, but he did hate owing him his life and freedom, he was mostly angry at his family for putting him in that position. Narcissa Malfoy was the only one who really changed her behavior in a meaningful way. The burrow was now gracing more the couple set of flowers she sent. She was grateful that both Harry and the ministry saved her family. She's even trying to become friends with Molly and other women from the order. She wished she had somewhere else to sit and not with the rest of the Death Eaters. There were rumors she was violent towards some of them in the last few weeks. Of course, none of them would file a complaint in the ministry or even talk to the press about it. There weren't many in the community who would care about them being assaulted, or even killed. When he asked Hermione how come the Prophet put the blame for the Malfoy Line on her she said it was because of something the Muggles called Sexism. It made sense when she said that, but she used at least 5 more Muggle words he didn't know. They couldn't see that Narcissa was taking charge lately, at least until two days ago when Hermione invited Lucius to their meeting, preparing for today and the forum Hermione was now opening.  
Hermione looked at her cue cards, even though they all told her she knew the speech by heart. She gave them one last look and started to talk:  
"Thank you all for coming here today. As you may realize, we are here to talk about coming changes in the Ministry of Magic. The last time Voldemort fell, (his name still made the crowd uncomfortable, but the fact many of them saw his body helped) things sateyd the way they were and that is one of the reasons he could come back and take over the ministry. Needless to say, we will not be allowing that to happen again, not by him and not by the likes of him."  
That sentence was the first one where Hermione's fear of speaking to this big crowd, but it seems she was now finding her stride.  
"Just before Voldemort returned, I had witnessed for the first time the root of the problem. It was at the Quidditch world cup where I saw esteemed members of the Ministry of Magic, some who fought Voldemort valiantly, carrying on part of his ideology,  
(the crowd, including many members of the ministry, were audibly baffled by this)  
While they hated him for using the dark arts, but they did share some of his views towards Muggles, magical creatures and of course, Muggle born. Just because you don't believe wizards should take over and kill innocents doesn't mean you respect them. The Ministry of Magic will not allow for these attitudes any more.


End file.
